PointBreak: The Great Pokemon War Chronicles
by ScatterLotus
Summary: The Pokemon War Theory, brought to life through the eyes of one Kanto Soldier. Follow Ethan Alcander and his squad members from Boot Camp to battlefield and everywhere in between.
1. PointBreak

Notice: contains violent Imagery not suitable for all ages

Run. Run. Run. As around me my allies are being torn to pieces, literally. Run. Run. Run. The Sub machine gun, cannon, and Magmortar fire overhead, taking out transport after transport of supplies, soldiers, Pokemon... Run. Run. Run. That's the message that was continuously going through my head as I crossed the roof of the old Silph Co. building, moving closer and closer to the end of the roof. Run. Run. Run. What else could I do? My assault rifle is empty, I'm out of grenades and all surviving troops are falling back. Pokemon? All of my military partners were separated from me in the hangar. The only ones I have left are my trusty Charmeleon running alongside me and his sister Treecko on my back. Run. Run. Run. As I near the cliff I come to grips with the fact I'm a soldier and I'm bred to die. To fight as long as i can then fall honorably. As many of my fellow soldiers... my friends already have. As I reach the edge I-

.

.

.

Hang on a sec... You guys have no idea what's going on here do you? I guess it'd make the most sense if you heard it from the Very beginning.

Gather round, Kiddies. I'm Ethan Alcander. And this isn't my story; it's our world's story.

A/N: sorry to have kept you waiting, welcome to the world of Pokemon! This story is an original piece with mostly original characters that takes place prior to any games and Will be a huge work, spanning many chapters  
Enjoy, vote, tell your friends, add to your reading _list!  
_ _Until Next time_


	2. Chapter 1: The War

We all know about the Pokemon gangster groups right? Team Rocket, Galactic, Magma and the like. But who knows the name of the original? The very worst of all: Team AfterShock. They had no other motives except anarchy. They wanted to overthrow the leagues and, with them, any type of government the regions possessed. And there was no extent they wouldn't go to in order to be recognized. This became apparent on the day of the first Meteor shower I was alive for, When there was this...

 _Welcome to the World of Pokemon Action News! BREAKING NEWS REPORT: This just in, on the biggest night of the year for Pewter City Museum Employees, a Massacre occurs. On to Buena Vista live with the report. Buena? -Buena here. Disaster strikes the famed Pewter City museum as an unnamed terror group attacked the Pewter City Museum and eliminated the employers with extreme prejudice and sadism. Weapons and Pokemon moves were proven to have used when investigators arrived at the scene. As you can see behind me, Authorities are loading the bodies of employees into ambulances. We still have no clue who to deem responsible for this bloodbath_ _Bec_ _\- Alright my sources inside the building tell me that authorities have found the bodies of multiple attackers inside the building, laying in a somewhat ritualistic encircling of corpses, Let's see if we can't get up close and get a shot of_ _one_ _of_ _the_ _Attackers_ _._

Buena Vista approached the stretcher that carried the body of an attacker and asked the man carrying it if there was any word on who was responsible for the carnage. the next four seconds go down in history

Second 1: all of the supposed corpses simultaneously sit up. On stretcher, in body bag, in building or anywhere in between.

Second 2: the one nearest Buena hooks his arm around her neck in a casual, almost friendly manner while all others make finger guns and hold them to their temples

Second 3: he snatches the Mic from her hand and, in a calm, relaxed voice, says "Aftershock" and every other corpse echoes the word in a shrill screech

Second 4: the assumed leader of the onslaught makes a finger gun and places his hand to his head and says, in the same tone as before, 'boom' and pulls the trigger to his gun, setting off an explosion right In front of the camera. Just as he goes, the microphone broadcasts the sounds of explosions that could be heard within any house inside of Kanto.

AfterShock had decided it was time to get moving and they took over the Electric company. Known to you as the power plant. was then the league made the decision thatAfterShock was no longer a small time gangster group, but a brutal and ruthless terrorist group who's small-scale ops turned out to be a wildfire pandemic.

With no regional champion to protect it, as it was a new landmass that had just been discovered and added to the Civil Regions Union about a month prior to the meteor shower, they'd already claimed the yet unnamed region and made their main base there. Sinnoh had already been engaged in this bloody civil conflict for a few years before it came to us here in Kanto.

I Remember being in school and learning about the war. The way they talked so delicately about it implied that there was nothing to worry about but on the contrary there was everything to worry about. This became clear to me in my junior year of high school...

My father was the only way life stayed normal during those years. He and I would stay up for hours on end and talk about the reports on the war and sometimes we would go into the woods behind our house and watch the wild Pokemon battle and play and gallivant. I figured out i can understand and communicate with pokemon back when i was younger. My dad and i were in the forest and we walked right into a bushel of Pineco who dropped from the trees and prepared to self destruct. I heard them saying 'stay away' while we were nearing the tree the rested in. When the touched down beside us, my dad covered me with his body and i stuck my arm out, accidentally touching one of them. All i could think or say was 'we don't wanna hurt you'. right when i touched one, i heard him say to the rest, 'They Mean no harm. Allow them safe travel but leave us' With that, the rest left and watched us from the trees. My dad and I then exchanged glances and ran away, back out of the forest. Later on, I decided to commune with the more docile pokemon of this forest. The Squirtles, Bulbasaur, Zoruas, Pikachus, Weedles, Caterpies and such. I figured out their temperaments. I when my dad told me he could too, it became just our little secret and ... and then mom got sick... the procedures cost was much too high for us to pay at once Considering it was a sickness and not just a broken bone or bruise that could be easily fixed by the same technology at a pokemon center so he did what he could to get extra money. Even some things... outside of the law. Then one night... He just up and left. No warning, just packed up and left us and didn't even take all of his belongings and I haven't seen him since. about a year after that I woke up to the woods behind our house ablaze by cause of a thunderstorm. All of the Pokemon had already evacuated or were in the process of doing so but as I reached the center of the forest, I saw a scorched egg sitting in an abandoned nest. Without any second thoughts I picked it up and ran out of the forest just before a tree fell on the nest.

 _ **A/N: Hey guys! So this is our main character and yes I am using Pokemon communication because uhh it's Fucking awesome. Anyways, there's a lot more to Ethan Than meets The eye as you'll come to learn (more on that later)**_  
 _ **Enjoy, vote, tell your friends, add to your reading list!**_  
 _ **Until next time!**_


	3. Chapter 2: The Delinquent

Woaahh is that a shiny Charmander?!"

Come on... take the bait...

"Let's goooo, Pidgey!" In a flash, a small bird is released and flutters to the ground. Joey. Perfect. Weak prey. I tighten my hold on my tree branch perch above Char, who is a amazing actor, casually licking himself until our target sends out Pidgey and gets into battle position

"Hmm... your scale pattern shows you're... wait then... this isn't right... how-"

I give a sharp whistle and char hisses out a stream of heavy, thick, choking smoke and blinds Joey and his pidgey. Well Joey at least. Keen eye's a bitch. I jump from my perch and land behind Joey, hook him into a headlock and use my ChattyChatot voice changer to threaten him

"Careful there, I'm armed."I bluff in my washed out deep base tone "Just unlock your PokeGear and drop it. I only want your money. I'll leave you enough to pay for that burn your Pidgey got"

He complies. "Wait, Burn? What b..." his voice trails of as he notices Pidgey being hit by a well timed Ember by char through the silhouette of smokescreen before the light fades and i grab his PokeGear and back into the thicker smoke, tailed closely by Charmander.

We leave the General area and climb an Oak to clear anyone's line of sight and then relax for a moment before connecting my PokeGear to his payout slot when his his balance comes on screen

"only 1500 bucks? Really? I know you're a youngster but i at least expected 2k, Joe, you're killing me here." i say, dropping his PokeGear into the tall grass below my perch "well, it'll be safe there. And easy enough to find if Comes looking this way for it. Come on Char, hunting time's over" i say, opening my blackbook app and crossing Joey off of my list. Once you hit them once, they don't fall for it again. Already 7 of the countless trainers in Viridian that had fallen for this little pit trap since i started it this month. I get down the tree and steady myself before catching Charmander in my arms and preparing to shove ahead when i hear the familiar crackle of a ta-

The world jitters then falls black

I wake up with Char sitting on my back while I'm lying in a rather familiar car. Before moving too much, i check the time on the dashboard clock. 1656. Been about 30 minutes since i passed out. There's a battery-like taste in my mouth and automatically I know what happened

"Uncle Billy..." i sit up and Charmander climbs to sit on my shoulder. "you are military police chief but you're my uncle. WHY DO YOU ALWAYS TAZE ME?!" I ask my uncle incredulously from the back seat.

"Because this is the third time I've gotten a call about a bandit using a shiny Charmander to honey pot trainers in the Viridian Forest. I have to rush to make sure I'm always the one to pick your dumb ass up before somebody else takes you to the station!" he turns off the engine and gives a long sigh. "Come with me." he says, before I'd noticed, we'd arrived at a bar in Saffron.

"what's your poison?" the bartender asks slamming two empty pints on the bar in front of my uncle and I. We each take a seat and char settles under my stool for a nap

"hey Mack, gimme 2 of the regular, would ya?"

"I know how old your nephew is, and a 17 year old normally wouldn't be allowed but uhh for you? I'll look the other way" says the bartender, casually shrugging off my presence.

"look Ethan, you're becoming a man. And also, quite a nuisance. You graduated last month, top of your class in battle strategy, out of this world academics and engineering ability that exceeds people twice your age and what do you do with that potential? All that ability and the know how? You use out to entrap and Rob innocents in the forest. What kind of... thanks Mack," my uncle says, slipping the barkeep a bill "what was i saying? Oh yeah, of all the lost opportunities I've ever known, your untapped potential is the saddest. My only nephew robbing people at gunpoint. Where'd you even get a gun?" he asks, likely referring to the fact i would tell my victims i was armed

"Oh no no, it was a bluff. I'm not scrawny but I'm not the strongest. If someone were to decide they wanted to fight back, that bluff could be the only thing that would stop them."

"You see that? You had the sense to take that into account. There are military tacticians that wouldn't even think of that kind of ingenious bluff and you waste it by hiding in the forest and taking money from trainers. But, it's not too late" he starts. Again. As he always does. "Kanto's military could use someone like you" I know this one like the back of my hand "there's a specific platoon. A battalion division that is-"

"specifically for people with your heightened ability and i think you could really blossom there and become blaahh-de-blaahh blah blah at least add some variety to it. Uncle Billy for the last time, I'm not gonna enlist!" i finish for him, taking my drink too the head "it's just not for me. I've got the brain smarts to match my street smarts and i can keep my head over here. I don't need to have to worry about literally keeping my head against militarized pokemon and insane 'infidels'. Only people I'm willing to risk my life for are my family." i explain, adamant about remaining stateside.

"And how do you intend to do that from behind bars Ethan? Hmm?" he yells at me, a twinge of desperation in his throat. "Cause last i checked, it's pretty hard to do Shit for yourself let alone protect those you love. And that's exactly where you'll end up if you keep on the path you're taking right now. Now i know you hate when i bring him up but... your father, before he left, he asked that i take care of you if anything ever happened to him. I said of course i would. It was casual Bar Talk. It wasn't like the man would suddenly cease to exist the next day. But he did. And since that day, I've been doing everything in my power to keep you and your mother comfortable and safe. and Damn if you're not making that hard for me" he says before taking a sip of his drink.

"Now I'll make you a deal," he says, before pulling out his suitcase. This isn't gonna be good... Uncle Billy isn't just the head of the military policemen. He stays stateside because he's a Lawyer for the Kanto Division of the Civil Regions Union Military. And a damn good one. Making a deal with him is like... let's just say in contract agreements, he always gets what he wants.

"and no, this will not be one of my typical signature agreements," I sigh of relief

"let's call this more of a... Wager." quit playing with my feelings, old man

"A wager among men. I will sign this recommendation letter. And we will go to the firing range In the Barracks. I will set this up on a target at 75 meters and should you be able to hit it from 75 meters with a single bullet from a weapon of your choice... you get the keys to my '67 Rapidash Fastback." hooooly hell

"yyy.. You mean the shiny blue with the smoky grey stripes? The one that I've wanted since you and I were souping up and restoring until it roared like an Ursaring?"

"mmhm." He nods smugly with his eyes Closed

"With the 409 Chevy Big Block Combustion Engine?" What can I say? I got a soft spot for muscle cars

"The Very same." He crosses his arms with a smirk

"DEAL!" I yell

He raises a finger "But..." but?

"But?"

"But..." But...?

"Buuuuut...?"

"But..."

"Okay, next time one of us says but, I'm gonna flip this stool"

"Empty a clip without a single hit" He continues "You're going to enlist. Deal?" He holds out his hand for me to shake

Should I? I dunno. This is Literally my life on the line...

I grab his hand and give it a hearty shake while rising from my barstool "Got yourself a deal, old man"

 _ **A/N: The Deal that can make or break our hero, hmm? We'll see how that goes.**_

 _ **We'll break into the more military/action area of Ethan's story soon but in the mean time,**_

 _ **Enjoy, Vote, Tell your friends, Add to your reading list!**_

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	4. Chapter 3: The Deal

"So what's the catch?" I ask, staring down the firing range at the target set so far out before me.

"No catch. Just hit the target within a single clip's time or you ship out." he puts simply.

Simple enough, right? I just gotta hit the target. It's easy. So why am I so nervous? I look around and stare uneasily at various customers here with us, all focused in on their targets, using various weapons. I attempt to take it all in. I walk behind the other active booths and make my way to the weapon check counter. If i had Char, this would be so much easier, quick ember would've sooo done the trick. Unfortunately, we had to check all active pokeballs and pokemon at the door when we'd arrived so char is waiting on me in an oversized playpen behind the front desk. Guess they didn't want to risk any pokemon wandering out onto the range. I approach the Weapons counter and address the guy sitting behind it only to see him already staring at me with a sort of creepy smile stretched across his pale, near white skin, eyes barely open past slits, hands folded and in a slightly hunched stance.

"Hiyeee! Welcome to the Eye of the Fearow Shooting Range! We deal in the most damaging and destructive of weapons, readying you for any of your combat needs." The smile alone is enough to send major uhh... Chills down my spine but if that weren't enough, his face seems to be nothing more than a mask! "What would you like to practice with from our wall?" He says, gesturing behind himself only I must've blinked when he moved to do so because I didn't catch him move.

"Uhhhh... Yeah, let me get that one with the scope up there?" I say, gesturing to a gun that's on the top left of the wall. I look down at my Pokegear for a split second to check the time and when I look up, there he is, holding out the weapon. Y'know what? I'm not even gonna ask.

"Thank you sir." I nod and start to make my way back to Uncle Billy waiting for me in the firing stall when

"One last thing, young one, Is it true that your uncle is the legendary Gunnery Sergeant William Bakir?" Why?

"Im uhh... I'm just gonna make my way back to my stall." I say and hastily start to walk back

"Oh come now, you didn't think he could walk himself into a place like this and have no one realize who he is. He's one of the legendary gunmen of the AcceleRaiders. He wields the CannonSabers Zeus and Leto if I remember correctly. Have you ever laid eyes on such beautiful pieces of machinery?" Uhhh... what?

"Ethan!" Uncle Billy's voice snaps me out of the trance that I'm stuck in at the sound of the Gun Managers voice. "What's taking so long up here? You got your weapon, It's shooting time."

"Hm? Oh I'm Sorry Unc. I got caught up listening to this guy talking about your guns" I say, snapping my attention to him.

"My guns? Who were you talking to about my guns at an empty counter?" He says, gesturing to the counter behind me where once stood the strange man. Now, a 'Back in 20 minutes' sign.

"Yknow what? I dunno. Let's get firing." Seems paranormal? I don't question it. I don't wanna open some crazy curse on myself.

We make our way back to our range and I line up my shot.

"I've got a whole clip to hit it, right?" I ask, not looking away from the sights

"Whole clip. That's a scoped SMG. Good for a spray and pray but those bullets will waste fast." He says, arms crossed smugly and not even bothering to look over at me. I'll show him...

I stretch and crack my neck. I got this! I scope up and squeeze the trigger ever so sli-

KRRATA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TA-TCHK

The gun shoots in an upwards line. I attempt to fire again, only to hear a click

"Empty clip. Looks like somebody's gonna ship out!" My uncle says smugly

"Waaaaait man i didn't know what to expect! Gimme another try" I plead with my uncle

"Alright how about this," he unlocks the gate and uses the target distance dial to reign it in. He takes the letter and walks back up to our shooting line "Not even a singed edge? Then here's what we'll do. You get one more clip on any gun of your choice BUT I'm pushing it back another 25 meters and you get no more chances. Sound fair?" He's a vicious business man...

"You got it" I say, reaching out and shaking my uncle's hand

"Alright then go ahead and choose your next weapon."

"I dont believe it" My uncle holds his hand over his mouth in amazement "How did you manage to outline the letter completely and not even get a scratch on it with a Colt Magnum?"

I stand up, pissed after the amazing recoil on the handgun knocked me flat on my back. I think for a moment and come to a realization: I'm probably not gonna get this car. Of course, that's the least of my worries. I'm gonna be out in the other regions, dodging bullets from anarchists

"Don't worry Ethan, when you're in the field, and the AfterShock soldiers are firing all around you, maybe the adrenaline will make you actually have some sense of accuracy. Sure did help with handling the Terrible two my first time" He reminisces as he crosses the firing threshold to retrieve the recommendation letter.

"The Terrible two?" I ask, dusting off my pants and leaning against the range gate

"Zeus and Leto. My CannonSabers." He says, reigning in the target and retrieving the unscathed letter from the stand. "First time I used them was on the battlefield and the adrenaline made it easy to use them even with all the recoil." Hmm... I've got a terrible idea

"Wait Unc. I got one more deal" I stare steadily down the range and lock my mind on the place where the target once was.

"Thems the brakes, Kid. I told ya, That first change was the only edit i'll make to our contract" He waves the letter in my face "I'll let ya drive the old girl when you're out of Boot Camp, hm?" He offers smugly, heading towards the exit. That is, until I say something that stops him in his tracks

"Triple the distance." What did I just say?

"What did you just say?" Uncle Billy stops just shy of the entrance, his suit jacket rippling in the draft.

"Triple it." I can't believe my own boldness but I feel like this time its deserved. "Triple it and if I don't make the shot, the car gets 3 coats of wax done before I enlist." I turn my head slightly and catch a glimpse of my uncle out of the corner of my eye. He's staring at me in slight surprise with his arms crossed.

"You've got balls the size of planets boy I tell you." He chuckles hardily and walks toward me with a sly smirk matching my own. "Only cause I wanna know what kind of fight you put up here. So what are you gonna use to pull off this feat? A sniper rifle? Handgun? RPG?"

I close my eyes and look downrange at the target

"You said any weapon I choose, right? Then I've chosen"

"Is that right?" He asks, staring downrange beside me

"Give me... Zeus and Leto. I want The Two."

 _ **A/N: Its. About. To go. Down.**_

 _ **This is Ethan's last shot and he decides to use The Two, guns with recoil like rocket launchers**_

 _ **My God, I've created an idiot...**_

 _ **And what was up with the Happy Gun Salesman (Peep the Cameo)**_

 _ **I've been MIA for a while but I'm back and the story continues. Ethan lives on! (For now...)**_

 _ **2 updates per month unless otherwise indicated and furthermore, I may publish my awaited Zombie Project**_

 _ **Enjoy, Vote, Tell your friends, Add to your reading list!**_

 _ **Until Next**_


	5. Chapter 4: The Two

Part of me expected an outburst of laughter followed by a 'Yeah, like THAT'S gonna happen!'

But there's nothing.

"Well?" I say into the awkward silence. Aaaand nothing. He still says nothing in reply. We've been standing here quiet for about 5 minutes now, him staring at me in an almost condescending manner with his arms crossed. My confidence from the initial demand falters. Maybe asking for the guns wasn't such a good move?

"What makes you think," he begins, finally " That you have the right to ask for these weapons?" He asks me, not angrily but sounding almost intrigued.

"Well I'm glad you asked. See, dear Uncle," I start pacing and recounting,"I seem to recall that there's one thing you were very clear of, and that is, any gun I choose is eligible for me to use," I stop pacing and turn to face him, "Correct?"

He furrows his brow slightly and raises one eyebrow and starts "Yes. That is correct. However- "

I cut him short and start again, pacing, "and are The Two not, in fact weapons?" I ask Uncle Billy

He chuckles a bit and smiles at the ground then looks up at me, shaking his head slightly "Yes They are, in fact, Guns." At this point we've attracted a moderately sized audience to our discussion, as if it's smart to crowd around an argument at a shooting range.

"So then, dearest uncle of mine, what makes YOU think that I DON'T, in fact, have the right to ask for those weapons?" I stop in front of him and mirror his crossed arm stance

"Well then," He sounds almost shocked. He nods to me and walks out into the parking lot while i stand frozen with my arms crossed. He returns with a rather official looking attache case and places it on a table near our range. He clicks the latches and slowly opens the case, revealing two beautifully crafted guns. Both have swirl patterned steel at the barrels and along the bowed Blades. One with a charcoal black, grip with a polished with a soft white polished finish. The crowd around me, apparently avid Gun-Nuts, start rambling and muttering about how beautiful they are.

"Is that really The Two?" Asks a slightly familiar voice from behind me. I turn around to see the face of the The Mask salesman err- Gun Salesman from earlier, staring with a half impressed look on his. "Not much to look at. I expected more." He shrugs and continues watching my uncle's big production of opening the case.

These people looked like a bunch of kids waiting for someone to show a new video game, It was strange, really. Two people in specific looked almost hungry while he takes out the guns.

"How much would you want for some pieces like those?" Said the one in the leather jacket

"Not on the market, bub" says my uncle, not looking away from the case.

"Come on now, everythings got a price" says the guy in the Oversized coat.

"Not one you'd be willing to pay" my uncle responds in a plain casual tone and starts walking towards me. OH. YEAH. THATS RIGHT. I'M using them this time. He does some weird flick of his wrist and I hear a click. He hands me the rather heavy revolvers, one at a time and we walk over to the Firing line. For whatever reason, it feels like we're moving in slow motion. Maybe its cause I'm dramatic I guess. I aim down the sights with the gun in my left hand.

 _BANG!_

The first gunshot erupts and echoes throughout the range. And also misses. By a mile. I fire two more shots that bury themselves in the wall far to the right of the Letter. I've only got 7 bullets in each gun and I just used 3. I'm just noticing that my hand is literally trembling. I look at my uncle to see if he notices it too only to find out he's no longer standing there. My breathing hikes up. Why are there so many damn people? And it's hot as balls. I'm here all alone... Hooooly hell whats up with this AC...the room starts getting a lot bigger and I'm getting a lot smaller. I start to panic until i feel a hand on my shoulder. I look over, expecting my uncle but I'm met with the counter attendant calmly holding my shoulder with one hand and focusing his attention on his pokegear in his hand, Playing FlapPidove.

"You're shaking like a leaf. Calm down boy, Jeez."

Part of me wants to ask who the hell this guy really is but it's overpowered by the part of me that is just glad I'm no longer alone in this crowd. With my social anxiety slightly releasing its grip on my throat, I turn to the crowd and speak.

"Could I get some damn space to work with?" I say, turning around and staring at a few people angrily. Most of the crowd cleared away, including the gun counter guy. Although I didnt see him walk away, oddly enough. But the... Two weirdos who had the hungry look earlier are still here. I disregard the creepish vibe that their depraved stares give me.

I continue attempting to hit the target, to no avail. 9 shots later, My uncle walks back to my side and I turn to see him scrutinizing my aim.

"Could I help you sir?" I look over my shoulder at him and ask

"You're off." Really? Where was this expertise the last few times?

"Oh thanks for being here now to tell me I'm wrong. Where were you when I was suffocating a few seconds ago?" I ask angrily towards my uncle "You know I dont do huge crowds! I almost had a panic attack!" I say in a highly angered tone.

"Whats got your panties all up your ass?" He asks, backing away slightly

"All i know is that this morning, I was running my daily hustle in the forest and I was ONCE AGAIN tazed by my uncle and now I'm at a shooting range trying to make the shot that will save me from doing military service, all the while, surrounded by weirdos. One of which, I'm PRETTY SURE is either a ghost or a ninja." I finish my exasperated rant and stare at my uncle who was simply nodding along the whole time.

"Sorry Unc." I take a deep breath in and look down at my feet. Once again wishing I could have Char at my side. My anxiety seeps away when he's here... I gotta get out of my own head.

"Got that outta your system?" He asks. I nod "Good, Now breathe. You have it in you. More so than you can see for yourself. Just relax and take the shot."

I sigh and shut my eyes tightly and slowly raise the gun to eye level. I open my right eye and line up the sights. Everything around me is quiet. The only thing I can't drown out is someone slurping from an empty soda cup. I look over my shoulder slightly to see the dude from the gun counter, relentlessly sucking down an extra large drink from Burger Kingdra. He looks over and abruptly stops slurping.

"Oh. Did you want some?" He asks, holding the empty cup towards me. I turn my eyes back to the envelope, sitting the full 300 meters out

"You need to dip down just a bit. Only a pinch." He points out

"Would you shut up? You aren't even looking at the target." I turn and say to him. At this point I'm more annoyed than confused or scared by his existence.

"You say that but you know you're gonna take my advice." He was right, unfortunately. For whatever reason, I decided to listen to the strange man and aimed so that i was shooting just below the envelope.

"That's more like it." He still hasn't looked up from his phone but whatever.

I lock my arms in this position and hold my breath. I can hear my heartbeat slow almost immediately and I instinctively raise the gun in my left, very slowly for whatever reason. I squeeze the triggers in sequence, first right then left.

 _BANG... BANG_

Each one, I only fire with once but It's enough.

I watch the bullets travel almost as if it's moving frame by frame. The bullets move in tandem, steaming towards the letter. Only... they're both far off! The first hits the edge of the targeting stand, penetrating the concrete and ricocheting off of the rebar, flying at a slightly modified angle and nudging the tail of the second bullet, just slightly. So much for listening to random bystanders After seeing this ordeal, I shut my eyes, release my breath and everything resumes a normal speed.

"That was..." My uncle trails off. I haven't checked how badly I missed yet but I'm sure it's somewhere between a foot and a mile.

"Insane" He finishes. I look up to see what made a missed shot so crazy and find out

I made it...

I MADE THE SHOT!

I look over to where the attendant sat a split second ago but now he's gone. Whatever, I MADE IT! THE CAR IS MINE!

"THE CAR IS MINE!" I mock towards my uncle after returning Zeus and Leto to the case. He smiles and shakes his head wearily.

"Well, a deal's a deal. Let's go home I guess." He says, grabbing the attache case and making his way towards the exit.

"Wait just one second. I'll see you at the car" I say, turning around before I leave. I run and grab the letter from the target stand. I'll read it when I get home.

I Grab charmander and Hop in shotgun of my uncle's squad car.

"Get comfortable, Ethan. We're taking the long way to my house."

"Cool. Fine by me, gives me more to gloat on Socialgram." I say happily

"You remind me of myself when I was your age." Says my uncle, sounding like he's a hundred years old. "Those were the days..." The car starts and he begins to reminisce about his active duty time.

And there you have it, Ethan actually made the shot! Not the way you expected that to go? Me neither, quite honestly.

 **A/N: Whats up with that shooting range attendant guy? Is he psychic or something? Or maybe he just really knows guns... Who knows**

 **Like it? Leave a review! Hate it? Leave a review! Feeling bored? Leave a review!**

 **Getting bored with it? God, I hope not. I promise things will get action-y very soon**

 **In the meantime, Enjoy, Vote, Tell your friends, Add to your reading list, REVIEW!11!1!11! (or I will hunt you down and 1v1 you)(Jk but really)**

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	6. Chapter 5: The Ride

"If you're gonna get all reminisce-y and talk about how you used to have so much more hair and how Aunt Joy used to be a spry, young, flexible thing, you can save it." I say brushing away the disgusting thought

"Okay, one, I still have all my hair,"

"Suuure you do,"

"and B, your aunt Joy is STILL a spry, young, flexible thing if you know what I mean Heh… Heheh..." I could've gone my whole life without hearing my uncle say that.

"For Godsakes, how old do you think I am?" My uncle looks at me seeming almost offended as we travel down the abandoned road. I shrug and raise my shoulders. I have no clue.

"I'm only 46! How old do I look?"

"I'm only good at checking pokemon ages and levels at first glance," I gesture between my feet towards Charmander "I have no clue how old you look dude"

"Whatever, you ass. Anyway, that reminds me, I've been meaning to ask since I picked you up back in Viridian, you got your little partner in crime stateside, right?"

I nod "In the forest behind my house"

"Then why does he have a foreign scale pattern? And he's got additional crests that no Charmander has. Least not any that I've seen" He points out, using one hand to gesture towards Char sweepingly

"I dunno. But you aren't the first to notice that. A few bug catchers, some nerdy school kids picked up on it. Joey, the kid I robbed earlier caught it off the bat. I think Char's mother came from somewhere else. She might've had him and flown the coup immediately. Or worse… Bottom line is that she wasn't there when his life was on the line."

"Well it's good then that you were. Ain't that right, Char? Y'know, I remember when..."

I tune out as my uncle rambles on. Char perks up and climbs into my lap, rolling into a ball. I pet his stomach and he growls softly. We continue down the back road, rolling along casually with no cars in front or behind us. The moonlight breaks between the trees lining the road through Route 3 and shimmers down on the road around us. Nothing but pavement for a mile ahead of us… Why is it so empty at 8 o'clock at night? Whatever, it's a warm night and now I can go for a ride down the road through Viridian Forest in the Rapidash, blasting whatever the hell I want.

My uncle slams on the brakes and I realize I should've put on my seatbelt when I hit my head on dash while he yells at me for something like not paying attention to what he was saying for the past 5 minutes. Honestly I don't know, I'm not really listening or caring about the pain; there is something more interesting happening outside the car. _I notice something strange._ My window is down and past the sound of our engine, I notice the screech of another car's brakes coming from behind us. I squint my eyes and look into the mirror very closely to see if I can catch the moonlight refracting off of a windshield or something. It wouldn't be such a big deal if it were accompanied by headlights. Whoever it was had left their headlights off. They were sneaking. But why?

"Hello? Hello, McFly?" He knocks on the side of my head, snatching me away from the mirror

"Turn off the headlights" I say sternly. He looks at me slightly confused and cuts his eyes at me

"What's wrong?" He asks, turning off the headlights and all lights in the car. He lurches forward a bit and pulls to the side of the road. Uncle or not, he knows when to listen to my judgment.

"I think someone is following us. I heard the brakes when you stopped just now." I tell my uncle.

"You sure it wasn't just a Zubat? Maybe a Rattata?"

"I know Rattata cries. Rattata cries have some sort of intonation, a message for other pokemon. Unc, That was a car. I'm sure" He scratches his beard in thought then shrugs. "Well, only one way to find out and what the hell, this is the perfect learning experience." He reaches for his belt and grabs a pokeball. "I'll need you and Charmander too. Close the door soft when you get out. Don't wanna alarm 'em if it is a car," he says as we silently exit the car.

"So what you're gonna do is exactly what I say. In the service, this is what we call a racket."

Uncle Billy presses the center of the ball and it grows to full baseball size in his hand, then he tosses the battered ball into the air, releasing a flying type pokemon with a rather silent, melodic cry who fluttered down onto my uncle's shoulder.

"How ya doing chatot?" whispers my uncle to the bird type perched on his shoulder, while feeding it seed from his pouch. Chatot lets out a series of clicks and chirps that I'm assuming mean satisfaction, but I'm not totally sure. My bird comprehension is a bit off.

"It's a distraction of sorts. Disruption that distracts the enemy and halts him dead in his tracks or throws him off your tail." Sounds simple enough

"Like a string shot to hang a dead enemy in the path of your adversary, effectively scaring him off."

"Uhm.. yeah. Something like that." he whispers in a hush. "But this is more of a misdirection. Now what we're gonna do is get in the car and drive away." What?

"So they can keep following us? what sense does that make, unc?" I ask, thoroughly confused

"Exactly my point. let them follow 'us'"

"Why'd you put air quotes around u- waaaaaittt… I seeee!" I nod excitedly as I catch my uncle's drift

"I need you to make a car sound, bud. Can you do that for me?" my uncle nods his head exaggeratedly, bringing chatot to nod in response.

"On my mark big guy, capiche?"

Chatot squawks once and sways his head in a way that I've only known birds to do when they're battle ready. Charmander steps to my side and looks out behind our car. I nod to him and he bares his fangs and growls in a low tone. Uncle B and I are already on the same wavelength, we know what we're doing. My uncle raises his hand to give the go signal for the operation and things get set into motion. Char hisses out a thick cloud of white smoke and chatot starts making his car noise on my uncle's signal. I motion to char to use two embers and move off. After that, our "car" is going. Honestly, they are one of the best fake speeding cars I've ever seen. My uncle and I hide in the smoke cloud by the actual car and wait for the creep that's been following us to pass. We squat down by the rear bumper to wait. I've never really had much of a reaction to smokescreens so I look into the passenger side window to see if I recognize the people in the car. Maybe it's some of my old classmates, taking a back road to Smoochum's Reach. I focus in and catch a slight glimpse of them, not much, but it's two older guys. One is a white guy with long brown hair and a scruff of facial hair. The other is a bald guy with a crazy thick beard. They look oddly familiar but not familiar enough to set off an alarm so I brush it off. After they're far enough away, my uncle pulls out the ball for his Staraptor and has her use defog to blow away the smoke before we hop in the car and pull away.

"You catch a glimpse of their faces?" my uncle asks as we make our way down the road

"A little peek. One was bald with a beard and one looked like Hozier"

He tightens his grip on the steering wheel and sighs for a moment before straightening in his seat and looking ahead with a stone face.

"You know those guys or something?"

"So what do you plan to do for the rest of the summer now that you have a car, Ethan?" asks uncle Billy a while after our little pitstop.

"Good Question. I dunno, honestly." I stare off at the empty road ahead of us and think fondly of the places I can go once I have his beautiful muscle car. "Maybe I'll take a road trip over to Johto. Run away with some chick I fall in love with outta nowhere. Alope and live out on the open road. You know, typical teen stuff." I reply in a flat, sarcastic tone.

"Okay you Asshole. Well I'm sure you and your friends will enjoy that road trip very much."

"Hah yeah.. My friends..." I trail off a bit

"You alright kiddo?" asks my uncle in concern

"Yeah I'm fine. Just kinda tired." I lie. Okay, so maybe I didn't have the most friends when I was younger…. Or older… Or.. well, now..

"Were almost to my place. You can stay the night if you're really that tired, just make sure to let your mother know so she doesn't worry"

"Might just take you up on that, unc." With Charmander in my lap, I lean back my seat and kick my feet up on the dashboard.

We pull into his garage and I hop out, followed immediately behind by Char.

"Go on and let yourself in. I've got to get your car ready." 'your car'... I like the ring of that. I smile and head into the living room, riding on the high of 'your car'.

Char nestled comfortably between my legs, I settle into the recliner when my uncle comes into the room, holding a set of keys and something small, shiny, and metal. He walks in front of me then stops, waiting for me to stand I assume. I roll my eyes at the formality but I still move Char and stand to receive the keys to SweetSilver.

"A deals a deal. Take good care of our girl, would ya? Don't forget that you aren't the only one that put work in on her. That engine was bathed with both of our blood, sweat, and tears." pointed out my uncle before dropping the key into my hand.

"I'll treasure her always," I joke "but what's the other thing in your hand?"

"Good eye." He opens his hand and it's an otherwise normal looking .44 bullet engraved bullet with a strangely cryptic tribal kinda design. "It's the bullet that passed through the recommendation letter. Figured that'd be a nice necklace to keep. All symbolic and what not." he hands me the bullet and a beaded chain.

"Wow… Thanks!" amazingly, the bullet isn't flattened after drilling a deep hole in the reinforced steel. I pocket the bullet so I can drill a hole through it for the chain later. I put on the chain, pocket the bullet, and smile fondly at my uncle. He's been like a father figure to me since dad left and I could never thank him enough for it.

"A'right, a'right, don't go getting all sappy on me. SO are ya staying the night or not?" he asks

"It might be better if I go home to moms. She's already worried about me I'm sure." I reason to my uncle, who nods and walks me to the garage

"Well, nephew, of all the times I've tazed someone and shoved them in the back of my squad car, it's never ended with them taking my car." he points out. He pats me on my shoulder and I feel a sharp prick.

"Ouch!"

"Sorry kiddo, must've been my ring"

I unlock the door and step into my new car that I have wanted for so long. I comfortably settle into the driver's seat. Oooh I could get used to this… Char crosses into the passenger seat while I put the key in the ignition and start the engine. She purrs like a Persian and I get ready to pull out of the open garage door. I look out of the window and into the sideview mirror just in time to see my uncle shutting the trunk. Guess he was making sure everything was out. I pull ahead from under the roof of the garage and stop as the moonlight reflects off of the glossy silver stripes going across the hood. Nothing but open road out ahead of me.

My uncle leans against the driver side door and smiles softly "I love ya, kid." my uncle says with a sad smile.

"Love you too uncle B. Something wrong? You look like you're about to cry"

"Nah I'm just… really gonna miss this car is all... Now get your ass home, 'fore I change my mind about this deal, A'right?" He says as he backs away from the car, patting the hood twice to indicate I'm good to go. I slowly pull onto the gravel road

"Alright Unc. I'll see you next time I wanna win a free car." I joke and pull off down the open road ahead of me. It's a long ride home…

 **Our hero got the car and is on his way home. But what was up with those guys following the car?**

 **And why was Uncle Billy acting so weird?**

 **Oh well... Lets get to this ride back home**

 **In the meantime, Enjoy, Vote, Tell your Friends, Add to your Reading List, REVIEW!**

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


	7. Chapter 6: The Wayback

I roll down my windows and and blast Ride by twenty one pilots. It's a wonderfully clear Night, quiet save for the purr of Silver's engine while Char and I nod along to the music while we cruise along the Wayback.

The Wayback is a dirt road path between Cerulean and Viridian that lets goods go between towns. Usually farmers and travelling vendors are the only ones who use it but my uncle uses it whenever he's going from his house In Cerulean to my house in Viridian. Just south of Mt. Moon, it wraps around all the way from the edge of Route 5 to the pickup of Route 2. Its pretty long but a direct route so not many turns. Lots of Cruise time.

Just a recap, today has been quite the wild ride. I was, once again, tazed by my uncle while running my usual hustle in Viridian Forest on Joey, got taken to a bar in Saffron, made a bet with the devil in a Celadon Shooting range, lost the bet, TWICE, doubled down on it, used my uncle's legendary twins, made the shot, and got a car! I wouldn't have made the shot if it werent for that weird guy from the counter though.. And so were those guys staring at the guns like a woman's ass in leggings… While I'm lost in my thoughts, a car comes speeding down the road in the opposite direction, snapping me back to here and now, making me slam on brakes and pull over. Part of me questions what the hell had them driving so fast but it's none of my business. Although I do have this nagging feeling pinching in the back of my mind. I brush it off and get ready to pull back onto the road when I hear a small quiet voice that sound almost like someone talking in my pocket. Naturally, I pull out my pokegear and hold it to my ear,

"Sorry, I think I pocket dialed" I answer immediately and move to hang up when

"Nooooooo nononono, wait! You have to turn back" says a familiar voice

"Uhhh… who's this?" I ask confusedly

"You wouldnt believe me if I told you. Just listen. The road that you just came from, really think about it. Your uncle's house is the main destination when you take that road. The last turn off for town is a mile ahead, meaning they already passed it. They know exactly where they're going, they wouldnt be moving that fast" says the man on the line. Somethings not right. I know this voice from someone… recent.

"... Gun counter guy?"

"...Just think, didn't that car look familiar?" theres a short pause "Just go." then a click

It did look familiar but from where? Waaait a second…

I start the car, floor the gas, bust a Youie, and peel down the straight that leads back to my Uncle's house. I remember, Thats bald Santa and Hozier's car! They WERE following us! And now they're doubling back for my uncle… But why? Whatever the reason, it cant be good, cause they were sneaking…

Char digs his claws into the seat to brace while I'm pushing 125 back up the road and pumping 21 guns by Green day, devising a plan of attack for the situation at hand with about 5 minutes until I'm at the front door. I call his phone but it goes to voicemail… He must be asleep

Odds are Uncle Billy has something they want. But what could that be? They obviously know what they want and they must've found out he has it somehow. Where they know him from? I know their faces from somewhere… what could Hozier want from Uncle Billy… He's one of the two guys that were eyeing down the CannonSabers! And the other was Bald Santa! Thats what they're coming for! Well the guns are in the trunk of his squad car so if i go in through the garage, I can secure them and get to my uncle with good time. His house is big enough for me to sneak around some corners and get to his bedroom while they ransack the downstairs. Knowing my uncle, if hes asleep then when I wake him, he'll wanna fight back. At least then we have the upper hand and we have what they're looking for. We have equal numbers and WE have the element of surprise. I slow down and turn off my headlights as I pull into Uncle Billy's driveway. Sure enough, that car was outside and the front door was open. Kicked in, looks like. I step out of the car and Char follows suit, sneaking silently alongside me. I look at the door, kicked in. I don't hear any sort of fighting in the living room, and there's no way some run-of-the-mill crooks would be able to take down my uncle and his birds in his own house and he couldn't have slept through that door being kicked down. I proceed to the garage entrance and slowly type in the passcode to creep my way inside unnoticed. As the door slowly opens, I notice the light is off, which means they most likely havent checked here yet. Meaning they still dont have what theyre looking for. I Enter the garage and pick the lock to my uncle's trunk on his squad car to get the guns… That arent there? The twins suitcase is gone! Maybe my uncle put it somewhere inside. This just changed the rules of engagement. Theres no doubt in my mind that thats what theyre after but if I cant find it, I have to stop them from getting to it. By any means necessary. Even if that means a fight…

I snake my way around the back of the stairs and sneak the living room, Char following closely behind me and we peek around the corner to see how many people were dealing with and are met with a hilarious sight. The living room is ransacked and the Culprits are still at the scene of the crime… Tied to chairs. Bald santa has a broken nose and Hozier has a Bloodied lip. My uncle, Bloodied knuckles and a black eye. He hold his pistol at the ready, back to me, facing the two of them. The two of them are smiling, despite their apparently hopeless situation

"Im only gonna ask you one more time old man. Where're the guns at?" asks Hozier

I step out from behind the stairs and make my entrance alongside Char. He readies a Flame Burst in his mouth. "I don't think you're in any position to be asking questions. What about you uncle Billy?"

Rather than the epic tag team shit talking that could've taken place, He turns around and aims his gun directly at my head and yells "What the hell are you two doing here? I thought I sent you home!"

"Hello to you too, damn! I came back because I realized the two people from the firing range were following us home. They passed me on the Way Back and when I recognized them, I whipped around and rushed back here. I should've known you'd have things handled."

"Unless you want your brat to get hurt, I suggest you turn over the two quietly." Says Hozier from his seat.

My uncle marches forward and pistol whips Hozier across his face "Dont say a damn word unless you're telling me who you work for."

"Look, you may as well let us go and give us the Guns, old man. You aren't getting a word out of us. We have steel resolves. You could pull teeth one by one and skin us alive and we won't so much as wince." Says Hozier with a look of boredom. I look down His restraints are still bound so i have no clue why he's so confident

"Uncle Billy, maybe you should take 'em down town instead of keeping them in the house with exactly what they're looking for."

"Good idea." He turns back towards Hozier "And FYI, assaulting an officer of the Corps in times of war is considered a War Crime. Meaning you're considered a PoW. And that means I can do things like interrogate you. Pull teeth one by one… E, help me get these Bozos in the car."

We load the perps into my uncle's car, their cuffs still secure and tight as ever, and we get into the front.

"If you knew they were coming for me, then you should've stayed away. You could've been hurt" he says to me, starting down the driveway and down Wayback

"They could've killed you. I wasn't gonna let that happen. I wanted to be there to even the numbers, make it a fair fight. I wanted to give you the Tactical edge and lower the risk." I counter

"That's my risk to take! I may be a soldier and a cop but Tactical edge aside, I'm your Uncle first! I am NOT letting anything happen to you! Even if that means something has to happen to me instead. There's No arguing that point." He shouts, stopping me from saying anything in reply. I stare blankly at my uncle for a moment then relent. He's right.

"I'm sorry Uncle B. I just wanted to help.." I say in defeat.

He sighs and looks at me for a moment before turning back to the road and patting me on the back "At least you're okay."

"Not for long" says Hozier from the back of the car. Before I know it, Hozier's arms, outside of the handcuffs, are wrapped around my neck in chokehold position. "Now I'll ask again, hand over the guns" He tightens his grip around my neck and I wince while he cuts off my air and my circulation and the world slows to a crawl while I analyze. The way he holds my neck makes it evident that he dislocated his thumb while we were driving and took our conversation as ample distraction to get in position to take me hostage. My eyes slowly drift to my uncle, who's looking at Hozier, yelling something too slow for me to comprehend. I close my eyes and reach for Hozier's hand, grabbing the dislocated thumb. As i start to pull back on it, speed returns to normal.

"... him hostage, it's not here!" finishes my uncle once time picks back up

Hozier shouts in pain as i pull his thumb and says "I guess that means both you and this car are useless. Fatman, Blow this joint." Hozier says and leaps from the still moving car onto the dirt road. Immediately, Bald santa, or Fatman rather, Starts to glow white while still in his cuffs. Is he about to…

7 seconds later, our car Explodes

 **What was up with that anonymous tip phonecall?**

 **Anyway, our man Ethan seems to be in a tight squeeze with his uncle. He's gonna need a miracle to make it out of this one.**

 **The next installment will one you wont wanna miss, so wait on it**

 **In the meantime, Enjoy, Vote, Tell your Friends, Add to your Reading List, REVIEW!**

 ** _Until Next Time!_**


	8. Chapter 7: The Burning Bush

he following 7 seconds take place in between breaths

Second 1: I look to my uncle and his eyes are sad but determined and angry

Second 2: He unbuckles me quickly

Second 3: He puts an envelop in Char's mouth

Second 4: He pushes me out of the moving vehicle

Second 5: I tumble backwards into the woods,

Second 6: The car speeds up and clears a bit more distance

Second 7: All the windows are blown out in a single blast, showering shards of glass large and small, causing the car to speed off into a tree a few feet in front of it

I stand up and start to run and immediately collapse. I assume I sprained it when I was shoved out of the car. I start crawling toward my uncle's burning car, terrified as to what I'll find when a voice begins shouting behind me.

"Shame the old man had to go. He should've just turned over the guns. But the old Fuck had to be difficult. Hopefully you won't do the same. Now," Hozier pulls out a pokeball as he comes closer "Do you know where the guns are?"

My blood is boiling at the point and Char is in the same boat, so angry he isn't even communicating with me, making nothing but guttural throaty growls

I struggle to my feet and crack my neck

"Ohh look at the brat getting all ballsy. Was that a challenge? If so then..."

He throws out his pokeball and out comes... What the fuck? I've never seen it before. It's a Leopard but it's purple with gold triangles along its fur. I've never seen anything like that in this region and I don't much care

"You and whatever the hell that thing is are going down!" Char comes in front of me and readies himself for battle

"Liepard, Fury Swipes" he shouts as the leopard jumps toward us at incredible speed. However, Char is ready with an ember. An ember that the Liepard gets through seemingly unaffected and swipes toward Char notice a patch of smoldering fur on his face. That ember had managed to burn him! He attempts to hit Char who remains directly in front of me until the last moment where he dodges a swipe aimed directly for his jugular and tumbles out of the way. He chirps in satisfaction and I look at the rather imposing leopard as it turns its sights from Char almost immediately and swipes towards me, catching me across my chest and knocking me back. I groan as I sit up and the Liepard draws nearer. That wasn't just a simple miss, he was targeting me! That swipe would've been stronger if he hadn't been weakened by the burn but it still did some serious damage. I feel the night air stinging the four slashes across my chest and wince. As I feel my blood start to run from the scars, the Liepard draws closer. Watching it licking its snarling maw, and I realize if I don't get outta here soon, I'm gonna be dinner. Char launches himself onto the leopard, tackling him off of me and into the underbrush. They tussle while I take a moment and try to establish a battle plan. I look and assess the situation accordingly.

Hozier isn't armed, luckily, but it's evident he's no run-of-the-mill thug. He's got a rare pokemon whose type I don't know. Not only that, but I'm not battling, I'm fighting for my life with Char's help. And odds are, I'm not getting out of here without taking him and his pokemon down. Liepard and Char are rolling around to my left and Hozier is...

Nowhere to be found

I climb up on my hands and knees and start to struggle to my feet when a hard kick to my ribs knocks me back to the ground.

Hozier squats in front of me while I cough profusely and attempt to collect myself

"Ya good there, HotShot? Ya don't look it." He stands and starts backing away slowly and teasingly. "You must not know who we are. So let me make explain something in no uncertain terms." He tears the fabric from the bottom of his shirt and starts to wrap his hands like an MMA fighter. "The group I run with? See we _always_ get what we want. We do what we have to to make things happen. By whatever means. So if you're gonna fight back," He finishes wrapping his hands and gets in a fighting stance, "then you're gonna have to learn why it's a bad choice to get in my way"

"You just made an enemy that you reeeeeally shouldn't have. You killed my uncle, and now you're threatening me? If you wanna kill me then try but I guarantee you I won't go down without a fight."

He steps forward and starts to circle me while I raise my fists to block.

I note how quickly he moves as he circles me while we move. His fighting style, however, remains a mystery. If I could figure it out then I could defeat him so much more easily. Uncle Billy taught me that...

"Ethan. You've never had a fight before, have you?" Uncle Billy asked 12 year old me

"No... I mean-errh..Yeah?" I say, attempting to sound tough while i dread fighting this Machop

"A true fight is when the brains behind two people's brawn is put to the test. Fighting s just as much mental as it is physical. And whether you become a trainer or not, with the way the world is nowadays, you need to know how to defend yourself. But rather than talking about it, you'll learn more for experience, try fighting my Machop for yourself."

He stepped back and shouted begin to the two of us from on his patio and with that, The fight began.

Machop threw the first punch. He everso apparently pulled his punch however it still hurt like hell. I wince and double over, clutching my stomach in pain.

"The first step in a fight of any kind is knowing your enemy" says my uncle, pointing out my lack of intel on Machop

"You always want to figure out the way the opponent fights and thinks. What's in his heart and on his mind. The extents he'll go to for victory."

I push my reminiscing aside as it isn't yet time to deal with his death. One second of hesitation is all an opponent needs to defeat you. Hozier notices me falter slightly and attempts to capitalize on it, moving in quickly and hitting me with a line of blows that make the claw marks sting then attempting to put me in a headlock. I swing out his arm and sock him in his chest, making him stumble backward and putting more distance between us deliberately.

"You can't beat me brat. We're just too different. His fighting style is up close and personal. Not like a normal street gang, more... professional. I still can't place it but it feels almost familiar. I sucker him in for a few more blow so I can attempt to guess his style when He finally lands his hold, locking my neck and cutting off my air. The world goes hazy and eventually the only light I can see is my uncle's burning car and Char in a similar bind to my own. He is pinned beneath the large leopard-like pokemon, struggling to escape its hold before it can land a blow to his jugular. I wince as I watch my friend get nearly eaten alive

"You just don't have it in you to win. Wanna know the Major difference between us?" He tightens his grip in the hold and leans into my ear "AfterShock is willing to kill to win" _AfterShock..._ they were the ones that had been following my uncle... The ones who'd killed him and were about to kill me!

As the last of the light begins to leave my eyes, I see Char spit a flurry of embers into and past the gaping maw of the Liepard as it attempts to clamp on his throat. A stray ember strikes the brush in front of me and starts a brush fire and I come to a realization.

AfterShock is a military force. Military and Special Forces specialize in a certain CQC known as Krav Maga. That's Hozier's style! And that means that I'm not dead yet. I drive my elbow into his ribs as hard and as fast as possible with the last of my strength before passing out, feeling a satisfying crack and the immediate release of my hostage neck. The tide has officially turned

"The next step is figuring out how to counter his style" My uncle tells me during this, my 7th fight with Machop

"You know his style is hardcore martial arts with flurry blows and distinct heavy hits. Know figure out a way to counteract it"

I Observe Machop for a bit longer and take a few more blows from him before I finally recognize his fatal flaw. He throws with authority but his movements are slow. Calculated. I can see exactly when he's gonna throw a punch. I dodge it and kick him once in the back of the knee and throw him to the ground. He rolls off of it and gets back up. He's not going down too easily

I counter Hozier's attempted shoulder throw and let loose a combo heading up from his chest to his jaw, knocking him back

"Somebody catch a second wind? I'm a AfterShock Officer, I won't be beaten easily. That second wind just means it'll be a little more difficult to put you out of your misery."

"Well if you're gonna do it," I launch myself forward and knock back my shoulder, preparing to rocket into his nose with all my force "then hop to it and leave the shit talk for after" I push off with my uninjured leg and start toward him, who moves at the last moment as I launch my arm and redirects my momentum, attempting to throw me into the burning bush ignited in Char and Liepard's struggle. I tumble and catch myself just before i hit the bush. I attempt to rush him a few more times on my bad ankle to test my theory. It affirmed by the fact he moves out of the way *just* as I would make contact. I hatch an idea immediately. But it takes Char out of his fight with Liepard. If it doesn't workout then it will cost me my life and surely Char his own as well. However, if it does succeed, I'll be able to deal with Hozier and Liepard in the same breath. But it has to be done right. Hozier picks up one of the pieces of Uncle Billy's window and juggles it between his hands, ready to gut me with its shard end

"CHAR!" I call from across the forest. He tumbles away from Liepard and I nod towards him, instructing him in Poken. He is silent for a moment then nods. _I hope you know what you're doing_ he replies, and proceeds to burrow underground.

"You're getting cocky. Liepard pounce on him now!" Hozier shouts. Not a moment sooner does Liepard Jump toward me with its claws extended, ready to kill. The world slows and my plan begins to come together. Liepard is met with a backspin kick to the face and I recover just in time to turn and see Hozier rushing at me, brandishing the shard of glass. I start to run towards him and shout "NOW!" signaling Char to spring into action. He pops up from directly underneath Hozier and wraps his tail around Hozier's legs with an iron grip, stopping him dead in his tracks and making him nearly fall. His arms shoot out in front of him and the shard of glass flies from his grip, coming toward me. While charging toward him, I grab it from the air, aware of what extent he'll go to win. Aware that it's the only way I'll win.

"You alright there? Taking quite the beating." my uncle says, refereeing this fight between Machop and I.

"What's the lesson here, Unc? I'm tired of fighting, getting my ass handed to me stopped being fun after the first 20 times we fought. What do I gotta learn to win this fight?" I say, out of breath from this long winded spar.

"How should I know? I'm not your opponent" He says, cryptically

"The hell's that supposed to mean?" I ask between dodging blows

"To win a battle, you must know how far your opponent is willing to go to win. Then beat him to it." he says, watching intently over our fight

I sigh. I close my eyes and speak to Machop in Poken

 _How far will you go to defeat me?_ I ask

He replies, slightly shocked, and tells me _I'll never lose to an enemy who isn't giving their all_

I wipe the sweat from my forehead and Look at Machop with a challenging glare

"Well in that case," I recklessly charge back towards Machop with a war whoop

 _"AAAAAAAAAAAAA-_

 _AAAARRGGGHHHH!"_

Hozier's eyes are full of shock.

"I didn't expect... you to actually do it..." He chokes up blood and falls toward me. Char releases his legs and his bleeding body falls against me.

"I guess you... did... have it in you..." he says as I feel his last breath against my neck. I pull the now bloodied shard of glass from his chest and back away, allowing him to fall to the ground.

He falls and I collapse and stare blankly at the burning bush in front of me.

I just killed a man.

 **A/N: Ethan has officially killed a man**

 **Unfortunately for our forlorn hero, this is the first of many times**

 **Hozier, the nameless AfterShock officer, has been defeated. He won't be terrorizing anyone anymore.**

 **The next Chapter is very telling of who Ethan is. You won't want to miss it.**

 **In the meantime, Enjoy, Vote, Tell your Friends, Add to your Reading List, REVIEW!**

 _ **Until Next Time!**_


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